Formal Aspects of Human−Computer Interaction

Abstract

This thesis provides a constructive application of formal methods to the study of human-computer interaction. Specifically, we are interested in promoting a principled approach to the analysis and design of interactive systems that will accompany existing henristic techniques. Previous formal approaches have concentrated on general and abstract mathematical models of interactive systems, proving that psychologically valid principles of interaction can be expressed in a language suitable for computation. These abstract models, however, are too far removed from an actnal design practice which is strongly influenced by common sense and liable to break down in the face of complexity. Our efforts are focussed toward retaining the mathematical grounding of previous formalisms while providing additional insight and direction for design practice.